When I was 14 years old, I left the Christian faith. My pubescent angst coupled with the development of reasoning independent of my parents’ led me right out of the church, until this Sunday.
As part of this column, I went with my friend and coworker Matt to the Snowy Range Evangelical Free Church. To preface things, my visit in no way changed my belief system or the way I feel about religion as an institution. I still disagree with the majority of the stances taken by leaders of the Christian faith. I still view religion as a blinder used to pacify perfectly reasonable people, and an occasional conduit for bigoted practices.
However, Sunday did curb my animosity toward people of faith. For years I’ve not only been at odds with religion, but I’ve also openly opposed it to an obnoxious extent. I’ve picked arguments with people of faith. I’ve insulted them.
There’s no denying that this was the wrong approach. No one at the Snowy Range Evangelical Free Church assaulted my beliefs or lack thereof. They were welcoming and kind, and Matt was great about showing me his faith. I owe people of faith similar conduct.
